1. Jennifer LaFleur, ProPublica
Getting to Yes
IRE 2012
Jennifer LaFleur, ProPublica

2. Just another way of saying no
Huge costs
Delay tactics
“Oh, you silly little journalist”
Sending you the wrong thing
“Your request was unclear”
HIPAA
Privacy
Privatization

3. Turning No into Yes Know the law Do your homework Be persistent Appeal
Who else has the same records?
Check retention schedules
Ask for record layout for electronic records

4. Massachusetts municipal records retention: http://www. sec. state. ma

5. State records laws
Many are similar to FOIA – but differ as what organizations are covered, exemptions and procedures.
Some states have an administrative appeal process.
TX – Required to go to AG
MO – Rep must ask for ruling
CA – Good luck

6. Negotiating: Some examples

7. Our database is on a mainframe and it’s very complicated, Missy

9. We don’t have the authority to do that

11. That will cost $25,000.

13. We have processed your request
We have processed your request. The labor cost for the request is as follows.
Item  # of hours
RESEARCH            20
CREATING FILES 6
CODING 24
TESTING 4    
Total (54 X$72)  =   $3,888.00 

14. 111.67. Estimates and Waivers of Public Information Charges
 (a) A governmental body is required to provide a requestor with an itemized statement of estimated charges if charges for copies of public information will exceed $40, or if a charge in accordance with § of this title (relating to Access to Information Where Copies Are Not Requested) will exceed $40 for making public information available for inspection. A governmental body that fails to provide the required statement may not collect more than $40. The itemized statement must be provided free of charge and must contain the following information:

15. We only keep the information for 7 days

17. That uses proprietary software.

19. We don’t keep that on computer

20. Okay, we do, but it’s a lot of files

21. That information is protected by law

27. Resources:
Investigative Reporters and Editors –
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press:
Justice Department’s FOIA page (includes links to FOIA officials and annual reports) --
A copy of this presentation will be available at